


Where Would I Be Without You

by xAcidRainx



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Lin Beifong, Bending (Avatar), Declarations Of Love, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Female Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gay Character, Leaving Home, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, Major Original Character(s), Mild Smut, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Not Canon Compliant - The Legend of Korra, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Lesbian Character, POV Original Character, Post-Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Romance, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26883928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAcidRainx/pseuds/xAcidRainx
Summary: Kya is young and rebellious.Lin is young and strict.A new friendship ends abruptly but where will that leave them?Kya finally gets to make her great escape, but what events will unfold while she’s away.-----There is another relationship that is not KyaLin as well. KyaAyani.This is going to be a long long long book. Every bit is a crucial part of the story line.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato, Lin Beifong/Kya (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II, kya - Relationship
Comments: 16
Kudos: 96





	1. Like Always

"STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" The voice was echoing all around her, bouncing off the buildings as she ran through the alleyways of the city that she called her home.

The bottoms of her feet were sore from the small rocks and who knows what else she had stepped on. She did not care though; it was the closest to the feeling of freedom that she desperately wanted. Her soul was longing for more, always telling her to run, to keep going, to explore more than just this place.

There was more to life than just busy streets and skyscrapers, her parents were travelers, but she was always told that there was no reason to leave her family and have her own adventures when this city had all that she could ever need.

Her father was right of course. The city had everything, but the city was not what she wanted, and he never understood her wild spirit. Her mother on the other hand always had an open mind, she understood the thrill that she was seeking.

She was suddenly brought back from her daydreams when she found herself facing a tall barrier wall between two buildings. She had turned a few corners trying to lose her pursuers but could hear the pounding of their feet not very far away.

Two of the men, dressed in all-black and grey police uniforms rounded the corner. They smiled as they saw her backed into a corner, feeling that the chase was finally over. What they did not see was the vial that she had pulled from the leather holster around her waist.

"This is just too bad, you almost had me." She said, smiling at the two officers as she wove the tips of her fingers at her side through the air.

The cork of the vial popped off and a long stream of water flung out at the officers like a whip and then wrapped around her arm, giving her the opportunity to lash her arm upwards and hook over the wall.

"It was fun guys!" She said as she threw herself over and onto the other side, taking off running once again, knowing that she only had given herself a few extra seconds before they destroyed the wall and continued the chase.

She rounded a corner between two small buildings and out of sight in a dark crevasse to catch her breath and wait for the officers to move on. She replaced the water around her arm back into its vial as she watched the men speed past and round the next corner. As their footsteps had finally disappeared, she started to shift herself out of the small space and back into the alley.

She did a double take behind herself as she walked into the main alley to be sure nobody had seen her, and as she did, she was met with a hard THUNK and fell backwards onto the cobblestone.

The hard pressure of a foot was on her right arm, causing her left hand to shoot up and grab the ankle in an attempt to pull it away and free herself. A dark figure stood above her, dressed in what looked to be the same metal outfit that the other officers had been wearing.

"Hmpf". The shadow said as it lowered itself and knelt over her body. "I didn't think it would have been so easy to get you".

She squinted her eyes as a face came into view finally, she was met with vivid and piercing bright green eyes and a cocky smirk that just somehow completely fit the face of the woman currently crushing her bicep. She grimaced at the slight pain that was shooting through the new numbness of her forearm.

"You know, this kind of hurts Lin, you can get off now" She said to the green-eyed woman who was still looking as if she won a prize.

Lin shifted her weight slightly so that circulation could return to the arm. "Well how else am I supposed to keep you from running away from me?"

"Have you ever thought of maybe asking nicely?" She really was despising the fact that she was captured so easily this time. How careless.

Lin removed her foot from the arm and onto the ground just beside it, letting the girl stretch and rub her arm but staying knelt above her so that she still had the upper hand. "What makes you think it would work this time? You just ran from three of my officers for the last half an hour"

She smiled up at Lin. "Who's to say I would have run from YOU though" she said as she stuck her tongue out.

Lin grimaced and rolled her eyes. "One of these days your father won't be able to bail you out, then what will you do?"

She paused and stared up at Lin. Her black hair never seemed to get messy, always proper, and well kept. Lin was the definition of what a commanding officer should be, always on the straight and narrow, forever falling in line all while leading the pack. Nobody expected any less from the notorious Police Chief Toph Beifongs eldest daughter.

Any trace of the cheerful attitude fell from her face and was replaced by disgust. "I don't need him to take care of me. I deserve to create my own path."

Lin noticed the change immediately and sighed. "You're going to be the death of me" she said as she lifted herself away from the girl, stretching out a hand to help her off the ground.

She ignored the gesture and pushed herself to her feet, brushing off her clothing before turning to walk away. Nothing made her angrier than people making it seem like she was an entitled brat because of who her father was and the power that he possessed over the city.

"Excuse me?" Lin said with her hands on her hips. "You owe that woman a new fruit stand. You can't just water bend people who argue prices with you".

She did not turn and face her but instead just rolled her eyes. "I'm sure my DAD will take care of it". She snapped, walking down the alley back toward home.

Lin sighed. Why was it so hard to get through to her? They had known each other their entire lives. It isn't like they were best friends or anything, but She always felt like she could be a good influence on the girl...even if she was slightly older than her. "DONT GET INTO ANY MORE TROUBLE. I WILL TAKE YOU IN NEXT TIME!" She yelled after her.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!" She yelled back. Before she disappeared down another alleyway, she turned toward Lin, smiled, and winked. At that moment, a hose hanging on the side of one of the buildings next to Lin busted open, spraying her with water.

"KYA!!" Lin yelled as she shielded her face from the water. She looked up and Kya had already disappeared.

"Just like always." Lin thought out loud as she turned and walked back toward the station defeated. Kya knew that she would never keep that promise, but the threat was there at least.

Lin was so distracted by her own thoughts that she did not notice the figure on a nearby roof as she walked onto the main road.

Kya sat there against a chimney, quietly watching the metal bender leave.

Just like always.


	2. How far is too far?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About six months had passed since the encounter in the alleyway between Kya and Lin. 
> 
> Story progression is crucial, but there will be massive amounts of character development throughout this epic.
> 
> Lets see where this goes!

Months had passed since the day that Kya had last caused trouble for Lin and her officers. Toph was made aware of the situation that day and decided to go to Aang and Katara directly about the problems with their daughter. Apparently something came of that because the city was relatively quiet other than a few muggings or the occasional gang activity. 

Although much of her work was in the field, Lin had mountains of paperwork that she would do for her mother. Apparently she was assigned the job for training purposes. She loathed being stuck in the station, she always craved the more dangerous work out in the field. 

A knock on the office door woke her from her thoughts. “Yes? Come in.” 

One of the rookies stuck at the front desk peeked his head in nervously. “Ma’am...there’s someone here to see you. He says he brought you lunch.”

Lin pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Fine. Send him in.” She waved the other hand to dismiss the boy who moments later was replaced with the familiar face of Tenzin.

“Hello Lin. I brought you some noodles, Toph told me you were stuck in the office today.” The young air bender set the bag of food on her desk and sat in a chair across from her opening his own food. 

Ever since the two of them started seeing each other, he would come by the station when Lin would be trapped there and bring her lunch. She spent a lot of time on air temple island with his family and they had welcomed her with open arms. Even her and Kya had become close and and would spend time together whenever Lin wasn’t swamped at work. 

“When did you see my mother?” She said, ignoring the bag in front of her and returning to looking over the packet of paper she had been working on. 

Tenzin slurped down a large clump of noodles. “She’s on air temple island with my father. Didn’t you know?” 

“Know what?” She glanced up at him quizzically. Her mother told her nothing specific when she left this morning, just that she had a full day. 

He paused for a moment, setting his empty take out container on the floor next to his chair. “Um...Kya’s leaving? Didn’t she tell you? Everyone are doing their rounds of goodbyes today before she leaves tomorrow.”

“WHAT? WHERE IS SHE GOING!” Lin had shot up from her seat and slammed a fist onto her desk, the metal denting slightly from the force. Why didn’t anyone say anything to her? Why didn’t Kya say anything?

“I assumed she would have told you. Aren’t you two pretty close?” He said. His face showed genuine concern for the way that Lin had reacted.

She took a moment to regain her composure. She didn’t want her boyfriend trying anything strange like comforting her over this. How could Kya blatantly not even mention leaving the city? She had seen her not even a week ago when she was on the island for dinner with Tenzin’s family. Lin thought that her and Kya HAD been pretty close finally. They spent a lot of time together over the summer. So what changed?

“Lin?” Tenzin finally broke the awkward silence that had apparently taken over the room. “Is everything okay?”

She let out a sigh and slumped back into her seat. “I have a lot of paperwork to finish, I’ll see you tomorrow if you don’t mind leaving, please.”

Tenzin still looked confused but nodded. “Of course, I’ll come by and check on you tonight.” He grabbed his lunch garbage and threw it into the bin by the desk. “Have a good rest of your shift.” He said with a smile as he left. 

Lin rolled her eyes as he walked out. She knew that she should appreciate the gesture, but she wasn’t holding her breath. Tenzin never actually showed up to her house at night. Mostly because he knew better than to keep her up when she had been at work all day. 

She tried to focus for the next few hours as she finished up the pile of reports that needed signed and filed. Before she knew it, the sun was setting and the night shift was arriving. She put away anything that needed locked up away in her mothers desk and left the office. 

“Have a good evening Lin!” The rookie who had announced Tenzin earlier shouted from across the station as she locked the door. He was a sweet kid, wouldn’t last a day in the field which is why he was just another face in the lobby. She nodded in his direction and left out of a side door leading to the back lot of the building. She was exhausted and still a bit angry about the situation with Kya. 

The walk home was peaceful. It was going to change seasons soon and you could feel it in the air. Half of the walk home was against the oceans edge, right across from air temple island. The lights from around the courtyards were just barely visible in the distance. 

Lin stopped, leaned on the railing and looked down at the water. Her own face staring back at her before a breeze rippled the water, distorting the image. 

“Lean much further over that railing and you’ll fall in.” A voice behind her said. Startling her and almost causing her to actually fall. 

“Spirits Kya! You know I don’t like when you do that.” Lin said, her heart still racing slightly. Usually her first reaction was to defend against something like that, but she was so far in her own head that she didn’t notice the water bender approaching. 

Kya chuckled. “I can’t resist.” She walked to the railing beside Lin and leaned against it on her arm so that she was facing Lin. “What’s going on shouldn’t you be home already?” 

Lin turned her head and scowled. “What do you care, shouldn’t you be home packing for your little getaway.” She turned back to the water. Looking at Kya just pissed her off even more.

“I was actually on my way to your apartment to tell you about that...” She said before looking over the edge herself. “I didn’t want to make a big deal about it in the first place, but you know how Aang gets...everyone has to see me off I guess.”

“I thought you would at least give your so called best friend a heads up more than a night in advance.” Lin said. Although she hated to admit it, Kya was her best friend...well her only friend really at this point. Her job prevented her from having personal relationships like that. She was surprised that Kya’s brother even stuck around as long as he has. 

Kya sighed. “Well last week I didn’t even know that I was leaving. I sort of sprang it on everyone later after you and had Tenzin left dinner.” Unfortunately for her that probably didn’t make much of a difference, it was in fact the same day. 

“So you’re telling me that instead of even just having Tenzin tell me, you decided that you would just wait.” Lin rolled her eyes. Kya was such a pain still, even after all this time and how much she had changed in the past six months. She didn’t break any laws or destroy any property, (accidentally or on purpose), and she wasn’t as angry at her father anymore. 

“I honestly much rather told you myself. I know my brother is dating you, but he’s an airhea-...nomad and knows when it isn’t his place.” Kya shrugged. It was the truth and Lin of all people knew that. Tenzin was very much Aang’s son when it came to these situations. Pretend you know nothing. 

Lin pushed off from the railing. “Where are you going.”

“Everywhere. Nowhere. I want to see the world, I always have. Maybe I’ll meet some awesome and powerful benders on the way.” She said. “Or maybe I’ll just smoke a whole bunch of lilyweed and spend nights on my back in a field looking at the stars. Whatever it is, it’ll be an adventure.” 

Lin could hear it in Kya’s voice. That was the honest truth, there was nothing more that she wanted and it had always been obvious that she hated being confined to the city. The fact that it took her so long to actually leave was mind blowing. “Well then I hope it’ll help.” Is all she could think to say. “It’s getting late. Best of luck.” She was still extremely pissed off about the entire situation and to be perfectly honest she wasn’t sure why. She turned and began walking home again. Maybe she would make an appearance before work to see her friend off. 

“Come with me.”

Lin stopped walking and turned her head. “Excuse me?” 

“You heard me.” Kya shrugged. “Why not? I mean you deserve a break from this place too you know. You’re working yourself to death as it is and you’re only 19.”

Lin raised and eyebrow and walked back toward her, stopping a few feet away with her hands on her hips. “You want ME to drop my entire life and put my career on hold to go galavanting around the nations with you on a self discovering journey that may end up being a complete waste of time and energy.”

Kya grinned at the girl who just basically insulted her grand scheme. “Or we will smoke lilyweed and stargaze.”

Lin shook her head. “I think we both know that there is no way I’m doing THAT, but seriously, I can’t come with you.”

Kya closed the gap between them and slung an arm over Lin’s shoulder. “Just think of how cool it would be though.” She pointed to the sky in the distance. “Haven’t you ever wondered what the rest of the world is like? How far the ocean stretches without land? How long it takes to walk the entire earth kingdom or what ember island is like in the summer? I hear from uncle Zuko that the beaches are like nothing we have ever seen!” She was still so excited and was practically jumping up and down.

Lin shrugged off her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry Kya, but I’m just not meant for that. I wish I was, but this is my home and I’m responsible for its safety. It’s in my blood, we just have different ideas of what life is.” It was true, although it sounded a bit harsh. They were completely different people, maybe thats why she got so angry when Kya would do things like this. “I have to go...” she turned to Kya once more and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Good luck.”

Kya half smiled. “Yeah.” 

Lin turned to leave once again. Damn her for making her feel even worse about this. That stupid girl can never leave well enough alone. 

“Lin wait.” 

She felt a hand on her wrist and she sighed. She was going to be exhausted in the morning. She spun around once again after being stopped for the millionth time. “I swear to the spirits if you make me turn around one mor—“ she couldn’t finish speaking before a pair of lips were against hers. She couldn’t even move, not even registering what was happening. The kiss only lasted a moment before Kya quickly pulled away. Tears dripping down her face. 

Lin just stood there like a complete fool. Knowing her shock was painted all over her face. “Wh...” is all she managed to say. 

“Goodbye Lin.” The water bender, still crying jumped over the railing and bent the water into a small wave that pushed her into the direction of home. Only glancing back once to see Lin staring back at her...for a second, Kya could have sworn she saw the glistening of tears on Lin’s face as well, but it must have just been the fog of her own eyes because the metal bender turned and walked away for the final time.


	3. Far North

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years have gone by since Kya left Republic City. She has traveled, trained, and mastered her healing skills.
> 
> Just as in the comic series were we got a glimpse into her past with her “first girlfriend” I tried to stay somewhere in that realm of thinking. 
> 
> Enjoy 😉

——————————————————

"It's three in the morning Kya..." The water bender sat up and rubbed her eyes, squinting the dark form that had fallen in through the bedroom window. "And why in the world did you come through the window again. I told you the front door works just fine."

Kya shrugged. "I was trying not to wake you up. The door is too squeaky."

"So instead you decided that climbing through the window in the middle of a blizzard was a better idea...?"

"It does seem that way, yes." Kya replied sarcastically. She pulled herself to her feet , kicked her wet boots off, and started to strip out of her snow covered clothing. "Plus, you don't usually wake up so easily." She dried herself off and got her night clothes on across the room. "Why aren't you sleeping?" 

"I don't know, maybe because my insane wife is out in a blizzard in the middle of the night and didn't bother to check in?" She thew herself back down onto her pillow. 

Kya smiled, ran across the room and jumped onto the bed, landing on her stomach next to the water bender. "Awe! Were you WORRIED about me Ayani?" She nudged the woman next to her with the palm of her hand. 

"I can't even deal with you." She said and rolled over with a huff. She hated when Kya insisted on picking on her when she was half asleep. A morning person Ayani was not, let alone a woken up in the middle of the night person. 

"Yeah, yeah. You love me and you know it." Kya said, throwing the fluffy comforter over her body and snuggling up to Ayani's back. "You're so warm". 

"You would have been too if you weren't spending all night outside". She grumbled. "Just go to sleep, I'll argue with you when I wake up".

Kya laughed lightly. "Fine but only if you promise." 

"Promise, now goodnight love." She pulled the blanket halfway over her head before falling back asleep. 

Kya laid there soaking in the warmth a little longer before getting back out of bed and going to the bathroom. Making sure to be as quiet as possible. If she woke her up again it would mean war. 

She turned on the light above the bathroom mirror and pulled the hair back that was covering her neck, removing the blood soaked fabric that was covering a wide but shallow gash just below her ear lobe. It was still wet with blood and she cursed herself for being so careless out in the storm. She had been trying to bend the falling snow into a small tornado and apparently caught an icicle hanging on a nearby tree in the process. Before she knew it, it had sliced her as it flew through the air. She was just glad that this was the extent of the damage. 

She ran some water into a small bowl and used it to hold over the wound with one of her hands. It wasn't as easy for her to heal herself as it was to heal others. The tinge of pain was a distraction and she would lose focus, either causing her to drop the water or stop the healing completely. A mastery of healing skills didn't matter when it came to her own body and she didn't want to ask Ayani to do it for her and cause her more worry than she already had. 

She stopped to re-examine the injury. The very corners had healed shut and it was no longer bleeding so she placed a strip of bandage over it and called it a night. Healing it too quickly would leave a nasty scar and although that was the least of her worries, she hated having reminders of her stupid decisions...

Kya shook her head and and looked at herself in the mirror. The last 4 years away from home hadn't changed her one bit, although it wasn't like she would look old and decrepit at 25, traveling as much as she had could have put some wear on her body. 

Home. 

She sent letters to her mother often. She was up to date about the whole family and Katara never missed a chance to tell her how much they wanted her to come home. Each time she would say the same thing. 

I'm not finished yet. 

It wasn't a lie. She still had so much more that she wanted to do with her adventures. She was just at a stand still after settling in the North...for the past year. 

Each time that she failed to mention Ayani in her letters, the more guilty she felt. She didn't tell anyone back home about their engagement let alone their marriage. There was just something that kept her from saying anything about it and she didn't even know if she would ever return to Republic city to actually stay at this point, but she knew she wasn't ready to come out to her family. The only person who even had any notion of her being attracted to women was...Lin. 

She shook that memory from her mind again. It was clear that it had meant nothing to Lin, so she had to disconnect the emotions tied to her. She didn't come to see her off the next day like Kya had expected, so it was clear that the feeling wasn't mutual. She had embarrassed herself and severed the bond with the person closest to her and she would forever blame herself for ruining their friendship. 

A small ray of light entered the edge of the bathroom window as the sun began to rise. The storm must have stopped at some point and she realized how long she had been standing there. It must have been at least two hours...

Kya turned the light off and went back to the bedroom. Ayani was still very much asleep but had sprawled out into the middle of the bed. She slowly laid down in the small space on the edge and covered herself back up. If she didn't attempt to sleep now, it was going to be a long day.

Her wife's arm draped over her body and held onto her tightly. Even in her sleep she was protective of Kya. It was one of the things she loved so much about her, something that she never knew she wanted or needed because she was always able to take care of herself. It was just a different feeling to have someone do it for you. 

The warmth from the blanket and body heat finally pushed her eyes to close and let her to sleep.


	4. Let’s Go Out With A Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 4.   
> I finally broke my own heart  
> Maybe for the first time, or maybe not.   
> I hope everyone can appreciate Ayani as much as I am. I think she needs her own story, she could be so perfect. 
> 
> Anyway, just some more on what Kya’s life is like since she’s been gone.

The sound of a plate shattering echoed through the house. "Crap!" Kya yelled from the kitchen. 

"Are you okay?" Ayani shouted from the bathroom.

"Yeah, totally fine!" She yelled back. Kya's hand was bleeding from a broken shard that had scrapped her.

Great just add that to my list of injuries this week, she thought to herself as she rinsed the blood off the palm of her hand and began picking the broken pieces off the floor.

"You know the plates go on the table, not the floor right?" Ayani said as she was trying to tie back the messy top of her blond, almost white hair.

Kya scoffed. "Haha you're so funny". Her wife's sarcasm was not welcome this morning. Lack of sleep and the throbbing pain in her neck was making her crabby at best. Not that it was Ayani's fault, so she shouldn't be too harsh with her. 

She finished cleaning up the floor and leaned her back against the counter. "So when are we starting?"

"Spirits Kya, can I at least eat breakfast before you rush me out of the house?" Ayani rolled her eyes. "Some of us can't just wake up with as much energy as you". She walked over to Kya and kissed her cheek. "Let alone wake up looking as beautiful as you, it must be nice".

"I have to admit, it is a gift I have been blessed with." She shrugged. "It runs in the family. If you ever meet my mother you'll understand."

"I plan one eventually meeting your parent's. All I know is that your mother is southern water tribe and that your father is a councilman in some big city". She said, brushing a piece of Kya's brown hair behind her ear. "We shouldn't stay here forever when you actually have a family that misses..." She paused for a moment noticing the bandage on her wife's neck that was tinted slightly with pink blood. 

Crap. 

"Okay, I know you're mad, but hear me out." Kya said as Ayani's loving look turned quickly into a scowl. 

"Thats why you didn't want to wake me up! Spirits Kya! I could have taken care of this for you last night!" She scolded the younger woman as she pulled back the bandage to asses the injury. "How did you even manage to slice yourself like this?!" 

"Well I was practicing some moves and an icicle got caught up...well I'm sure you get the rest". Kya sighed.

Ayani reached over to the sink and got some water to heal Kya. "Wait a minute..." she said as she laid her hands over the wound, pushing the glowing water against the opening. "What exactly were you 'practicing' out there?" Her eyes narrowed as she watched Kya divert her eyes to the closest wall.

"A snow tornado..." she said quietly, afraid to look at her. 

She was quiet for a moment, mostly out of disbelief for what she just heard and partially because she was trying to focus through her frustration on healing her. She was able to close the gash enough that it could finish healing on its own without scarring, placing the now red water into the sink. She sighed and turned back to look at Kya. "We start in 10 minutes...Don't be late."

With that, Ayani walked to the front door, put her boots on, and slammed the door shut behind her. 

Well, this was going to be a fun session. 

She went to the bathroom, tied her hair up in its usual fashion, and left the house already feeling defeated. 

—————————————————

Ayani was in the middle of the snow covered field stretching her legs when Kya showed up. She stood about 15 feet away from her partner and stretched out her arms. 

"We're starting with the basics." Ayani stated as she rolled her head and stretched out her shoulders. 

Kya stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Um...excuse me?" 

"You heard me. Only an amateur would go out in a blizzard and try to make A BIGGER STORM." She was clearly still upset. "If you want to go out and act recklessly, then as your MASTER I will teach you like I did 4 years ago, since I clearly failed to do so properly the first time."

"You'd think as my WIFE you would be able to trust my judgement a little more at this point though!" She shouted back. 

Admittedly, the guilt that she felt over the situation was part of the reason why she didn't mention what had happened beforehand. Although she was frustrated with how Ayani was treating her, she wasn't wrong in doing so. She went beyond what she knew she could do and got injured doing so. 

"Don't pull that right now. When we're training I can't be your wife. I have to be your teacher first and we agreed on that." It had been the only thing that they felt would be problematic. When Ayani realized her feelings for Kya stemmed much further than the friendship that they had formed when they met, not only did she immediately tell Kya how she felt, but made her swear to not let it change their professional relationship. She first and foremost was her water bending and healing master. What happened off the field was irrelevant in those moments. 

"Fine." Kya said smugly. "Then instead of practicing, lets have a no holds barred match. We'll see who the real master is."

Ayani laughed. "You really want to go there little girl?" She shrugged, getting into her normal stance. "I would be happy to knock some sense into you. You're getting a big head."

"You're only 5 years older than me, old woman!" Kya jabbed back. 

She got into position, dropping the smile from her face, ready to get serious about the training. She knew that she probably would lose, but she wanted to show off her skills regardless and this was the only way she could do it freely. 

Ayani started first, pulling a wave of snow from under her, throwing herself into the air and shooting small water missiles at Kya who quickly and swiftly brought her hands up to make a thick shield of ice in front of her, blocking the water as it cracked against it. 

Kya leaned back and bent a spike of ice out from behind her and into the air toward Ayani. The woman twisted the snow below her around her own ankle, pulling herself back go the ground to avoid the attack. She ran towards Kya, creating a curved ice bank to slide across and around the shield blocking her way. 

Kya created a large geyser of water between the two of them, giving her enough time to surround the lower half of her body with water. As the woman busted through the pillar, Kya let off a series of kicks that created balls of ice the size if her foot to hurl at her opponent. 

Ayani jumped, ducked, and dodged them the best she could. One clipped the side of her arm but didn't hit hard enough to do any damage. She was going to have to be more careful though. Kya wasn't the newbie that she once was. Years of practice and fighting had her close to the same level as she was herself, but she would never admit that. Not yet anyways. 

Another ball of ice came hurling at her, coming a bit to close to her face than she liked. "Time to get serious" she said quietly before wrapping her body in a large whip of water, lashing it outward and breaking through the defense that Kya had around her waist. 

She wasn't able to jump out of the way in time and the strong hold of the water wrapped around her waist, launching her off to the side of an embankment, her back hitting the hard packed snow, causing the drift above her to begin collapsing. She quickly spun around and kicked off of the wall, creating a sheet of ice under her body so she could slide away before being buried. 

"Are you sure you want to keep going?" Ayani chuckled. She always loved picking on Kya, even during a fight. "You can always give up and I promise I won't judge you for it."

Kya caught her breath as she slid off the ice and got to her feet. She took another battle stance and sent a wave of snow at the woman who was taunting her. "I don't quit that easily!" she shouted. Watching as Ayani bent the snow around her body, not leaving a speck of it on herself. 

"Have it your way." With expert speed and fluidity she spread her arms out to her sides and over her head, creating two huge streams of water that curled at the top "Don't be a sore loser". She threw her arms forward and the twin streams shot out at Kya. 

She reacted before they got within 5 feet of her. Her arms shot up and the water caught onto them fluidly with enough force to probably throw a platypus bear through the air, but only pushed Kya back 10 feet as she dug the balls of her feet into the snow. She grunted with the pain that her shoulders just withstood to catch the water on her arms. She immediately used them both as whips to thrash out at Ayani who was actually very impressed at the feat she just witnessed. 

The right whip caught her wrist and Kya hurled her up into the air, bringing the left whip up, catching her ankle and throwing her back down to the ground and into the pile of snow a few feet away where Ayani had started the fight, having left mounds of the powder from her wave. 

Kya dropped the whips from her arms, breathing heavily from the strain that her body just had to go through. This wasn't done so she had to regain her some of her strength quickly. 

The pile of snow that Ayani had been buried in exploded outward in all directions. Shards of ice splintering the trees off the side of a nearby cliff and surrounding the ground around Kya's body. She bent the pieces upward, extending them into long spikes and branched off in different directions around the girl until if she moved even a few inches to many, she would be pricked by a spike. The woman stood across the field with her hands on her knees. Before glancing up at Kya's trapped form. She couldn't help but smile at her wife's defeat. 

Kya knew she was finished. There wasn't a single thing she could do without being able to move even a finger to release herself. She glared at Ayani in the distance, watching the water benders chest raise and fall trying to catch her breath. 

She really was one of the most beautiful water benders that she had ever met. The way her bright hair draped over her back and shoulders, always messy and never manageable other than the two beaded braids that hung down on each side of her face. She was toned in all the right places and always hated wearing layers, so you could make out almost every small curve of her body. 

"Fine, you win!" Kya finally yelled to her. "You are clearly still superior MASTER AYANI." She made sure to put extra emphasis at the end both out of spite, and she knew sheliked the ego boost. Kya watched the smile creep onto her face as she was met with Ayani's sapphire blue eyes.

"Gotcha." She whispered.

Kya could make out the word on her lips and rolled her eyes. She still hadn't melted the ice prison yet. "Come on babe! I learned my lesson. I won't be reckless anymore!" What a lie. 

She squinted at Ayani who started to finally stand up, but instead, coughed and doubled over onto her knees again. That's when Kya saw it. 

Blood. 

It had soaked Ayani's shirt and the snow beneath her when she had coughed. "LET ME OUT!" Kya screamed. 

Ayani tilted her head upward again, panting. She smiled one last time with the strength she had left before collapsing face down into the blood soaked snow, a large spike of ice jutting out of her back over her ribcage It had been sticking up from under the pile of snow, from when she made the icy bank earlier. She was still conscious and heard the shattering of ice and Kya screaming in both pain and despair before the sounds faded away and all she felt was Kya's hand on her back before everything went silent.


	5. Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know.   
> If you're anything like me, Ayani dying wasn't okay...  
> This is going to be a long story so please bare with me through all of this.
> 
> Also, someone asked me about ages of the characters right now:  
> Kya:25  
> Ayani:30  
> Lin:23  
> Katara:48  
> and so on and so forth as close to the series as possible.  
> .....  
> Without further interruption here we go!

_________________________________________________________________________________

'Air.'

'I need more air.'

The thoughts were becoming clearer with every moment that passed. Her eyes felt like they were glued shut. 

'Air.'

She began to feel a tingling at the tips of her fingers, climbing her arms and down her torso all the way to her toes. 

'I'm in water.'

She felt the ebb and flow of the water surrounding her body. The movement was making her feel sick. She felt the muscles in her arm twitch. That's the moment when the water finally slowed and stilled. Thank spirits. 

A pair of hands covered in water rested on each side of her head. She could feel the warmth from the hands through the water. It was soothing. 

"I think it's time you woke up Ayani." The voice said. A woman whose voice she did not recognize. The words echoed in her head, over and over and over and...

The air suddenly filled her lungs, quickly and deeply, her eyes shot open and her body lurched forward in the small pool of water. She choked on the feeling of being able to breathe as if she hadn't for a very long time. The next feeling was a massive shockwave of pain across her entire torso causing her to vomit in the water. 

The same pair of hands were holding her, propping her body up in the water by her shoulders and holding her steading as she was puking.

"That’s it, get it all out." The voice said. Ayani looked down at herself and the water, now a mixture of bile and blood. Her head was spinning, and she kept passing out and coming back. The hands never leaving her. When she finally was able to get control, even the smallest amount the woman spoke again. 

"I'm going to take you out of the water. It is going to hurt. Keep breathing." Her voice was soft and comforting, it could probably make a dying person feel at ease.  
Her body was being lifted from the water; the woman's hands were under her arms. Once the middle of her torso came out of the water, the excruciating pain began.

"AUGHHH" she screamed in pain. It was the worst pain that she had ever experienced, and it radiated throughout her entire body. 

"You're doing amazing. Lay on your stomach." The voice told her. 

She helped as much as she could manage, which was not much at all, to help the woman adjust her onto the cot that was right against the pool. Once she was laying down the pain eased ever so slightly, but it was enough. She had no energy and she felt like gravity was trying to crush her. 

"Wh...a..." she tried to speak but the words were hard to get out. She was not sure if it was because she could hardly breathe still or if she was just too tired. 

"Don't you worry, you're safe. Now I'm going to take this cot to where you'll be sleeping" she began to push the bed on its wheels out the doors and into a nearby bedroom. 

"You're going to need plenty of healing sessions, but once your muscles readjusted and you get some rest, you should be just fine and able to move around."

"MOM!" A yell came from the room they had just been in. "WHAT HAPPEN..." Kya stopped in the doorway, completely shock and what looked like disbelief washed over her face as her eyes met the one half open sapphire eye staring back at her. 

The tears began to glisten and roll down her cheeks before running to the bedside. "Ayani...thank the spirits...I thought I lost you." She said as she stroked the back of her hand on her wife's cheek. 

"She's very out of it dear. She needs some rest, I'm not sure if she's even aware of who she is." Katara said. 

Ayani stared at Kya, going in and out of consciousness. She could not speak, no matter how hard she tried all she could manage was a soft groan. Instead she just lifted the corners of her mouth and smiled. 

"Oh, she knows who I am, even if she doesn't know who she is." Kya reassured her. 

"She needs her rest, you can pull a chair up beside the bed, but that’s it." Katara said with a smile as she left the room to give them some privacy.

Kya gazed upon Ayani's injured body. Her torso was wrapped in bindings still. Her ribs on the right side had been badly broken and although the past three weeks of resting and healing treatments improved everything significantly; the muscles surrounding the area were going to take time to regain their strength. If it were not for Katara, the process would have taken much more than a month. Kya had her healing skills, she was considered a mastery level, but that did not mean that there were not others who were stronger than her, her mother being one of them and Ayani the other. 

Kya pulled a chair up close to the cot and laid her hand on her wife's forearm. She tried to feel nothing but happiness about the fact that she was alive, but guilt had been at her ever since she saw the...

Blood. 

She has never had a problem with blood or any other bodily fluids before. Being a healer, she was around enough sick and injured people. Something about seeing someone she loved being hurt so badly...By her hand at that.

She watched Ayani's back raise and fall. She had fallen asleep, hopefully tomorrow she would be able to stay awake better. Between the trauma her body had gone through and the effects of the healing process, who knows how long it would take for her to regain more functioning. 

"I'm so sorry..." Kya whispered, laying her head down on the edge of the bed and drifting into the most peaceful sleep in weeks.


	6. I’ll Admit It

The next few days went by quickly. Mostly thanks to Ayani's treatments. They lasted most of the day and after she had made it through that first night, Katara let Kya do the medical work. She was a master healer and was more than able to take care of her herself. 

They both spent the week in the healing chambers together alone. Other than the day that she was pulled out of the water, Ayani didn't see anyone other than Kya, who avoided questions about where they were other than telling her that they were taken to the nearest city that could provide the proper care for her. 

"Kya, I'm fine." Ayani insisted as her wife tried to help her off the cot. "Not only has it been a month since I got hurt, but I've been doing nothing but healing the past week. I can walk to the bathroom by myself."

Kya sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? I can always just brush your teeth for you."

"I think I can manage love." She rolled her eyes. At some point she was going to have to let it go. She grabbed Kya and pulled her close. "I will tell you every day for the rest of our lives if I have to. This was not your fault." She kissed her softly. 

"It is...I can't unsee what I saw that day...I was so afraid that I lost you." She started tearing up. "I almost killed you, all because I was too proud, how is that not my fault?" 

Ayani punched Kya's arm as she took a step away from her. "It was a freak accident. It was my ice that I fell on. I should have gotten rid of it before continuing the fight, if this is anyones fault it's mine."

Kya rubbed her arm. She knew it was an accident, she didn't want to be dwelling on it forever, but how was she supposed to let it go? The nightmares alone were unbearable and even though Ayani was alive and almost back to 100%...they didn't go away. 

Ayani walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Today was finally the day that they got to leave. They could go home and everything could go back to normal. Maybe they could even do a small vacation wherever they were before they left, god knows she needed one after all of this chaos. She was just excited to get outside and test her stamina. 

Kya leaned in the doorway with a cloth bag over her shoulder. "I got all of our stuff, you ready to grace the world with your presence again?" She said with a smile. 

"If that's what you want to call it." Ayani looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and she lost weight that she didn't have to lose. It wasn't as noticeable as she thought it was though. She just felt a lot less put together than usual, it's strange when time passes without you knowing. "I look like shit." She said.

Kya scrunched her face in disapproval. "Don't you talk about my wife like that." She grabbed Ayani's hand and kissed it. 

"You're biased babe. You have to love me." Ayani said as she rolled her eyes. 

Kya laughed. "I don't have to, I choose to. Now come on we have to get going. Throw your hair up in that sexy messy bun on top of your head and lets go."

________________________________

After an hour of trying to feel presentable they were finally able to leave. The sun was brighter than Ayani remembered and it instantly gave her a headache. 

"Where to first?" She asked excitedly as they stood outside the door. All she saw in front of her was the ocean. God had she missed the open water. 

Kya looked at her confused. "Well we're going home aren't we? Unless you planned on start traveling again."

She shrugged. "Well I was hoping we could check out the city before we go. I want to see where we are and meet the woman who helped you save my life." She wasn't sure why Kya was in such a rush to leave. 

Kya contemplated what to do. It would be rude for her to leave without telling her mother...she already knows about them and accepts it. Her father would never have any issues with it having grown up an air nomad. Still...how will Ayani react. 

Ayani pushed her shoulder. "Hey, what's going on with you lately. I've never seen you so off your game, ever since I woke up you've acted strange." She wasn't being told something and as much as she hated secrets being kept from her, she could see the pain on Kya's face over the whole thing. 

She was silent for another minute, gathering her thoughts. "You want to meet the healer that saved you?" Kya sighed. 

"Yes, that would be fantastic actually." Ayani said. She was genuinely excited to thank the mysterious woman. All she could remember was her calming voice and careful touch as she helped her. Not much of a memory. 

Kya took her hand. "Okay, she should be home...let's go, you're going to need to be okay with traveling on the water. Are you up for it?"

"Spirits yes, please. I miss bending and my body needs the exercise." She said, stretching her arms. 

Kya laughed. "Except you don't exactly know where you're going so maybe just let me do the work." She said, going to the shore line where a few small wooden boats were. "After you my dear." Kya bowed. 

"You're absolutely ridiculous." Ayani scoffed as she climbed into the boat. 

Kya dropped the bag of belongings between them and got into the back after pushing the boat into the water. "Let's get this over with." She mumbled to herself as she wove her arms in circles like a windmill causing the water to speed off into the water. 

A couple of minutes later the shore of Air Temple Island could be seen, it wasn't far from where they had been which made it easy. Kya knew that Ayani had never been to Republic City, so she didn't recognize anything about the place...the only thing working in her favor it seemed. 

They docked down the beach from where the ferries would load and unload passengers. Ayani got out first, took their things and grabbed Kya's hand to help her out. "So this is the place? Looks deserted" she said as they walked up the shoreline until they got to the stairs leading up the small cliff. 

"Yeah definitely not deserted just quiet...sometimes." Kya said as they climbed the stairs. 

Ayani stopped, eyeing her wife quizzically. "What do you mean by that?"

Kya sighed. "Just come on we're almost there." She motioned for her to keep walking. 

As they got to the top of the stairs, Ayani gasped audibly. The structure and architecture was beautiful. "This is amazing! Where are we?!"

Kya was about to answer when her brothers came running out of one of the gardens beside the eastern temple wall. 

Shit

"BUMI GET BACK HERE WITH THAT ITS AN IMPORTANT RELIC FROM ANCIENT..." Tenzin was cut off suddenly as Bumi stopped and threw the stone orb he had been running with. "You're such a stick in the mud little brother!" He called as tenzin dove to catch it. 

Thankfully they didn't see the two women. Bumi walked back into the garden and Tenzin ran after him. "STOP TAKING THINGS!" he shouted. 

Kya rolled her eyes. "Like I said, sometimes it's quiet. Lets go before they come back." Kya took her hand and lead her into the large stone hallway that ran open between two half's of the building. "It's mid morning so best bet is the kitchen." She whispered. 

Ayani was more than confused at this point. Kya was acting more strange by the minute. Leading her down hallways and around corners as if she was sneaking in. Ayani had enough and ripped her hand away, stopping in her tracks. "I want an explanation right now. Why are you acting so weird? Why are we sneaking around some huge temple looking palace or WHATEVER." 

Kya had lost this one. There was no way out of it anymore. "Look...okay..." she tripped over her words. 

Get it together Kya. 

She took a deep breath. "This is my house. I live...well lived here. It's where I grew up."

There was silence between them for what felt like forever to Kya. She didn't want to say anything else without Ayani reacting first. 

"So what...you're like some royalty or something? Were those two outside..."

"My brothers? Yes. Am I royalty...no?" The last one was a question more than an answer. "I'm not like a princess or something if that's what you mean."

Ayani rolled her eyes. "Well you're currently a drama queen. Why didn't you tell me you lived here?"

Kya was about to answer when a voice came from behind Ayani, down the hall. "Well if it isn't my new favorite patient, feeling better I see." She recognized the voice immediately as the one that she heard in her half lucid state. 

She turned around and smiled. "I wanted to come and say how grateful I am to you. Kya here almost didn't let me."

Katara took one of Ayani's hands in both of hers. "It was my pleasure. It's great to finally meet you awake Ayani." She smiled. "I see my daughter took great care of you, I'm Katara." she said as she let go if Ayani's hand. 

Spirits mom. Kya smacked her own forehead. 

Ayani's eyes widened. "The... THE KATARA?!" She was in complete shock. "The woman who basically liberated the Northern water tribe when she was just a kid, letting females of the tribe become actual benders who could fight instead of just healers. The one who went on to become the greatest healer in all of the nations and fought in the 100 years war?!" She was out of breath from the excitement and how little she just breathed going on about her. 

After she got her brain to wrap around the fact that she just was healed by a legend. Her eyes narrowed, the realization of what was just said had sunk in and she turned back to look at Kya. "Your daughter you say?" She directed the question to Katara. 

"Babe...see...". Kya was stuttering again. Ayani was terrifying when she was mad, and this was a huge thing to be mad about for sure.

Ayani was about to reply when another thought occurred to her. "AVATAR AANG IS YOUR FATHER?!" She yelled at her. "Why in the ever loving spirits didn't you tell me?! We've been married for a YEAR. We've been together even longer than that!" 

Katara interjected this time. "YOU'RE MARRIED?" She shouted at Kya as well. 

"Yeah did I forget to mention that part?" She looked around her wife at her mother nervously. 

"Well you sure DIDN'T mention it. You said you loved her. Not that you married her!" She said in a frustrated voice. 

Ayani turned to glance at Katara. "I'm sorry...is that something that isn't okay?" She asked. 

"Of course not! I'm just upset that she didn't have the heart to tell her family. She never even mentioned you until she brought you home. Believe me when I say our family is completely supportive." Katara said. 

Kya looked at both of them who were visibly upset with her. "Mom...I wasn't ready to come out yet because I didn't know how you guys would react."

Ayani leaned against the wall next to her. She needed to let them hash this out before she went after Kya. Maybe in front of Katara wasn't the best idea to argue about their relationship issues. 

Katara's face softened. "Sweetheart your father is an air nomad, there are no restrictions when it comes to love." She walked up to her daughter and pulled her into a hug. "And no matter my cultures views I would never judge your lifestyle choices. The water tribes are more hush about it, but it isn't something that doesn't happen."

Ayani shifted uncomfortably in her spot. Katara wasn't wrong, but there were a lot more close minded people in the Northern tribe still. That was a story for a different day. 

Kya's eyes glistened with the tears that had begun to form. "I'm sorry mom." She squeezed her tightly before stepping away. She leaned over, grabbed Ayani's hand, and pulled her over. "Mom, this is my wife, Ayani." She said. "Ayani, this is my mother, Katara."

Katara smiled and pulled Ayani into a hug. "It's wonderful to meet you." She stepped away. "I believe we have a lot of catching up to do." She said. 

"That would be great." Ayani smiled.

"I do believe that the two of you have some things to discuss as well." Katara glared at Kya again. "When you two are ready come to my office and we can talk all you want." She turned and left. 

As soon as they were alone Ayani broke the silence. "Spirits Kya, this could have been so much less awkward if you would have at least told me that you grew up in republic city. I didn't even know that much, you were always so vague with your history."

Kya shifted awkwardly where she stood. "I knew you would find out eventually...and I wanted to tell you, I really did. I just didn't want to be judged on who my family was. I don't want people to have high expectations based on who they are. I have always wanted to escape and be more than who I was here." She finally admitted it, the thing that she had been holding back all this time.

"So you thought that I would have a certain opinion on you based on that. I get that in the beginning, but with how long we've known each other...it makes me angry that you didn't trust me enough after the fact." Ayani scolded her. Kya had guilt written all over her face and as much as she deserved it. Ayani understood why she did it...to a point. I'm sure growing up in the shadow of her parents was difficult, but after so long...

"I'm sorry...I don't have an excuse for being afraid later on in our relationship. I just didn't have the guts to admit that I had been keeping something so important from you. Trust me when I say that it has been a constant struggle for the past four years." Kya crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. 

Ayani sighed and turned to her wife. "I won't be angry with you one day. For now you need to accept that I will be for awhile." She leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Don't keep things from me anymore, please." 

Kya smiled. "I won't...can you try and not get too angry with whatever else comes our way while we're here? I don't know what will happen if you still want to stay for awhile. I have been gone for quite some time, and my life was a bit chaotic before I left and met you."

Ayani chuckled. "I can't even imagine what someone like you could have done in such a big city growing up. Especially with that wild personality of yours."

"Spirits you have no idea." She sighed. "Let's go get this over with." 

Ayani took Kya's hand and they walked in the direction of Katara's office. "You are ridiculous love."

Kya sighed again. "You really have no idea."


	7. The Beginning

———————————————

"So, let's start with the basics." Katara said as the two women sat on the couch in her office.

The room was so comfortable and relaxing. The perfect way to unwind after a stressful day. Which is why Kya remembers being in this room more than any other in the temple. 

"What do you want us to start with mom?" Kya said. She was so embarrassed at this point that she hid Ayani from her that she was ready to get this done with. 

Katara laughed. "Relax Kya, start with where you both met and just go from there. I just want to know!" It was obvious that she was excited. In Kya's entire time growing up she had never brought anyone home to meet her family. Now she had surprised her mother with being married. 

Ayani smiled at Kya and squeezed her hand. "I've got this love." She whispered. 

"Thank spirits." Kya replied with a sigh. She could probably tell it better since she was the one who confessed her feelings in the first place. 

Ayani took a breath and looked to Katara. "We met at a camp on ember island. She had been training on the beach and I was there to help heal someones sick mother. I had gone down to a ledge to soak in the beautiful day and saw her using a whip of water to write her name in the sand." She stopped for a moment remembering the encounter. "It was great to see another water bender, but I had never seen her before and although the northern tribe is large, having mastered my element and more I hadn't met A LOT of people there. I went down to meet her and found out she was from the south. We talked for a long time and I offered her to travel some with me and train her in return. So we began a journey together and I let her choose where we would go."

Kya sighed at the memory. "She forgot the part where she scared the living daylights out of me when she splashed me with a ball of water to get my attention."

Ayani laughed. "OH I forgot about that!"

"Of course you did." Kya nudged her with her shoulder. "Don't worry, mom likes to hear stories that cause me internal pain."

Katara laughed. "What can I say, they are pretty funny!" 

Kya rolled her eyes. "Okay, so then she fell for my charm and that's about it." She said with a shrug. 

"Although you are quite the charmer...that definitely was not what solidified it." She laughed at Kya's attempt at rushing the subject. She really liked to watch her squirm. 

Ayani played with one of the beads on the small white blonde braids that hung from her hair over her face. "We had been with each other for a few months. I didn't see her as more than a student and a friend." She said, her face turning a bit more pained remembering the rest of the story.

"She found a kid, an earth bender, and he was passed out in a cave. He couldn't have been more than 10 years old and he was beaten up pretty badly. I had been looking for somewhere to set up camp and she figured climbing the side of a mountain was a better idea, so I let her...She disappeared and I couldn't find her anywhere. I searched all day and night before I found her a few miles away from where we had been laying with this injured kid in her lap crying about how she wasn't strong enough to save him. She couldn't have left him to find me, so she did what she could till I could find them." She stopped once again trying to shake the feelings that it had caused. "That's not only the day that I realized I didn't want to ever lose her again, but that I was going to be the one to teach her to master healing as well as bending." 

Katara's eyes filled with tears. "As sad as the circumstances were...Thats beautiful as well." She looked to her daughter who's eyes were glistening too. "I'm proud of you Kya. I'm sorry that you had to go through that." She got up from the chair she had been sitting in and went to Kya who stood up, wrapping her mother in a tight hug, causing her to cry even more. 

Kya pulled away from the hug. "I'm sorry. I feel like I could have done better if I had taken your training more seriously." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. 

Ayani stood up. "If it wasn't for you, he would have been alone. You did more for him than you know. Nobody, especially a child, should have to go through that." She hugged Kya.

"I'm assuming the rest is pretty easy to figure out." Katara said. "I'm very proud of both of you. You are wonderful for each other." She turned to Ayani. "And thank you for putting up with my daughters antics!"

Ayani laughed. "She puts up with me more than I put up with her. I can be stubborn and a bit too cocky sometimes." She pointed to her chest. "Which is why we're here in the first place." Ayani glared at Kya before she could argue and it definitely stopped her from saying anything. 

Katara laughed at the two of them. "You two remind me of the days my friends and I travelled the world. A lot of snarky remarks from Toph and Sokka being a pain in my...well you know. Aang was always crazy about me and I was clueless half of the time." She smiled at the memories that flooded her mind. "I'm sure your adventures have been just as exciting."

Kya smiled. "Well we're definitely not done yet. I can't wait to see what else life has in store for us." She took Ayani's hand and kissed it. 

"Just being with you is an adventure." Ayani retorted. "She's reckless, stubborn, and get's a little bit of an attitude when we train sometimes." She smiled. "But I love her more than anything. She's all I have."

Katara cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "What about your family? You live in the north don't you?"

"Mom, maybe not right now..." 

"It's fine, may as well get it out of the way now." Ayani cut her off. 

Ayani took a deep breath. "I grew up in the Northern water tribe. Mastered water bending when I was 12, healing at 14." She said with pride. She was considered a prodigy, having picked up both talents naturally." She cleared her throat when she felt herself getting choked up. "I never knew my father, My mother never was with him, I don't even know what nation he was from. One day she disappeared though. She was a free spirit, which was where I got it from.." she chuckled. "she left one day for the fire nation to help some other healers with a city that had been plagued with some nasty disease. When a few weeks passed without contact, I left to find them to help...nobody had ever made it there. It was like all 4 of the healers that left with her disappeared into thin air. I was 15..." She wiped the tears that had formed. "So then I decided to set off on my own and travel. She was the only I had, both of her parents had died relatively young, I was about 2 years old when gran died, 5 when grandfather did as well. She was an only child...So I was alone."

Katara pulled Ayani into a tight embrace. "I am so sorry sweetheart." She pulled away and held her at arms length. "Well, you have an entire family with us now. No matter what happens between the two of you. You are a part of this family." Katara glared at Kya. "You can't put up any fuss about it either."

Kya looked shocked. "Of course not! I was raised by YOU and an AIR NOMAD. Family is family, no matter the form."

Katara laughed. "That's right. Now, I think that's enough for today. Let's go get dinner started so we can introduce her to the family."

Kya rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sure Ayani's getting tired, first day out an all that. Maybe we should just turn in early." She passed a glance at her wife, pleading for her to agree. 

"I would LOVE to meet the rest of the family. I almost ran into your son's in the courtyard already!" She glared at Kya. "Plus, it would be an honor to meet Avatar Aang as well, I wouldn't turn down the chance to be in the same room as two legends."

"Then it's settled. Everyone will be excited to see you again Kya, and it was the perfect day to come home." Katara smiled at Ayani. "You'll have a few more 'legends' to meet." She turned to Kya this time. "Your father had planned a get together. Your uncle Sokka is coming."

Great one more person to tell. She did miss him, He was everyone's favorite, especially Bumi's. I'm sure he's going to be excited to see both of them together. "Yeah that'll be great. I didn't get to see him for very long before I left." She said. 

"He asked me just last month if you planned a visit home yet. He's going to be thrilled to see you, expect questions about your adventures, you know how he gets." She began to walk out the door. "Oh! Toph will be showing up too. She retired recently from the force, so she has had some time off. She comes around a lot more for now."

Kya laughed. "That's unexpected, I never thought she would quit." That woman was so stubborn, everyone thought Toph would work till she died. 

Katara shook her head. "Spirits, us either. It's been nice having her around. Lin hasn't been here much since her and Tenzin broke up. I'm sure she'll be glad you're back! She's asked about you quite a bit since you left. It'll be such a great surprise for everyone!"

Kya's eyes widened as the sudden realization set in. Katara and Ayani walked ahead of her and out of the office. 

"You coming babe?" Ayani yelled from the hallway. 

Shit


	8. You’re Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright you faithful followers. Things are finally coming together again. Leave some love and let me know how you like things so far.

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Kya had snuck away from her mother and her wife easily by telling them that she wanted to shower and clean up before seeing everybody at dinner that evening. Neither of them had put up a fight and continued to go and take care of dinner and setting up without her. 

The hot shower felt wonderful after the stress that she had just endured with not only talking to her mother but finding out that dinner was about to turn into a welcome home party/wedding announcement. 

Ugh.

Not only did she have to go through all of what just happened all over again, but now...Lin was going to be there. 

Nobody ever knew how she had felt about Lin. Sometimes even she didn't understand the way she felt. Maybe it was because she always tried to protect her even when it was a lost cause, or it could it have been the badass attitude she always had...her laugh...bright green eyes...

She shook her head and groaned. It didn't matter, none of it did. Lin chose to avoid it, she ignored Kya's obvious advances to come with her, like her, love...

Kya stood there for a long time, trying to erase the memories from her mind. The last thing she needed was this right now. The past is the past and that's where it should stay. She repeated that in her head at least a million times in the last month, trying to figure out how to clear her conscience because of Ayani's injury. 

"Hey..." A finger tapped her shoulder from the other side of the shower curtain. 

Kya jumped, she didn't even hear the door open she was so deep in thought. 

"I'm almost finished, sorry." She said. 

Ayani sighed. "You better be, I don't want to have to come in there and ruin my outfit."

"I know a simple solution to that then..." Kya said, smirking to herself on the other side of the curtain. 

Ayani peeked her head into the shower and eyed Kya up and down. "I think we both know how much I would love to accept that invitation, but I came to ask you if you had any issues with me going with your mother on a walk around the island. She wants to show me around while we wait for everyone to arrive."

Kya turned her head and kissed her lightly. "Go have fun. Mom seems to really like you. I think I could use a little time alone before the festivities anyway." She smiled. "What time is dinner?" 

"About 6 o'clock. You have at least two hours still." Ayani kissed Kya again before closing the curtain. "I love you, pull it together babe." She said as she left. 

Well, she wasn't wrong. Pulling it together is exactly what she needed to be doing, how comforting to know others realized it too. She turned the water off and got out of the shower. Drying her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. "You've got this Kya. It's just the family, your Mom already loves her, you know Dad will too." 

She finished getting dressed after her pep talk and decided there was time to throw herself onto her old bed and relax for a while, maybe a nap was in order and when she woke up she would feel better about everything. Ayani was being given the royal treatment and surely basking in it all. At least that was something that she didn't have to worry about. 

"AUGH" Kya wasn't paying attention and ran straight into what felt like a stone wall. The impact was so hard that she almost fell, but Instead, a hand had reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back up and into an extremely tight embrace which she returned without a thought. 

"You're...you're home." The voice said. 

Kya's eyes widened as she broke the hug quickly. Meeting a pair of emerald green eyes. She couldn't even speak, still currently in shock from both running directly into her and the surprise hug.

"L... Lin..." she finally managed to get the name out. 

The woman had the same amount of shock written on her face, but it was mixed with so many more emotions that Kya couldn't pick out specifically. 

"When did you...why...what are you doing here?!" Lin stammered through the sentence, trying to regain some composure, and clearly failing. 

Kya looked down the hall behind her and quickly opened the door that she was standing in front of, grabbing Lin's wrist and yanking her in behind her closing the door. Kya stood there just staring at her awkwardly. It had only been 4 years, but she looked so different to her, the most noticeable were the two scars on her right cheek stretching up from her jawline. Without thinking, Kya reached up and ran her fingers over the skin softly. 

Lin flinched. They didn't hurt, but they were a new addition from her younger sister being careless. The cords from her metal uniform were cut and had retracted so fast that she couldn't stop them from whipping back at her face. Luckily, that was the extent of the damage. The fact that it seemed to be the first thing Kya noticed didn't surprise her. 

Lin pushed her cheek against Kya's hand. The hand was so cool, like cold water against her constantly warm skin. Lin closed her eyes, basking in the feeling for as long as possible. She missed her, she didn't get to say goodbye, and she regretted it every day since. What felt like an hour had only been a moment when the cold skin was yanked away from her. 

They both stood there in silence, just staring at each other until Kya finally spoke. 

"Hi." Is the only intelligent word that she could manage to say to her friend. 

Lin smiled. "Hi. I see you weren't ready to run into me."

"I...um...I mean I knew you were coming because Mom told me you might". She paused. "But no not literally."

"Well, you did. Just like you always used to. So here I am, the last place I expected to be today". Lin looked around the bedroom, completely untouched from when Kya had left. Everything was still in its place, even down to the papers covering her table. 

Kya grabbed Lin suddenly into another tight embrace. This time she didn't want to let go. It was like every pent up feeling she had been holding back since she left came spilling out at that moment, her eyes were stinging with the tears that were threatening the edges. "Spirits, I missed you". She said before Lin pushed away lightly. 

"You know it's pretty messed up that you left as you did". Her voice becoming sterner than anything. "I made the mistake of not saying goodbye, but..."

"No, I did that. I made a choice that had consequences, you shouldn't feel bad for leaving it as we did. I'm sorry." Kya cut her off. It wasn't Lin's fault. She shook her head. "I didn't mean to screw our friendship up; I could have just left it the way it had been". 

Lin sighed. "Why did you do that? You...you kissed me. No explanation, no warning, no embarrassing moment of questioning what happened. You did it and you left".

"I told you, I'm sorry..." kya couldn't finish before Lin grabbed her face and pushed her lips against hers. She didn't even fight it; she didn't pull away. Her heart was racing as it happened for the first time all over again. Her lips were just as soft as they had been, she remembered the entire 10 seconds that had passed from the last time, but now, Lin was the one who wanted to do it. The world melted away for the whole moment that the kiss lasted before Lin pulled away. 

"You never should have left". She breathed. "I missed you too."

Kya didn't say anything. She couldn't. 

There was a knock and the bedroom door opened. Katara peeked in, clearly not expecting to see the two of them standing there. "Hello Lin! I see you ran into Kya already". She smiled. 

"Quite literally". Lin replied with a grin. 

"Well dinner is going to be served, you both better be there. After all, everyone wants to see you Kya". Katara gestured for them to go with her. 

"You go ahead, I need to fix my hair, I'll catch up in a minute." Kya grabbed her hair ties and started pulling it up as the two of them left. 

A few minutes later there was another knock on the door. Kya walked over and opened it. Ayani stood there smiling, "You ready yet slowpoke?"

Kya exhaled quickly. "Um. Yeah, I think so". She already felt guilty. She didn't do anything wrong...except...she didn't stop or react to Lin kissing her. "Time for you to meet the family..."

Ayani grabbed Kya's hand and kissed it. "It'll be fine, even if they hate me, which I highly doubt will happen." Her cockiness was showing, making Kya roll her eyes and smile as she was dragged out of the room to go have dinner. She knew that everyone would love her, well, almost everyone.


	9. The Meeting

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Everyone was already sitting around the long dining table as Kya led Ayani into the room. Sokka and Aang were laughing and Katara and Toph were bickering passive-aggressively as they carried the last of the food out to the table. Tenzin, Bumi, and Lin seemed to be in a heated debate of their own, nobody had noticed that the two of them had entered. Kya took that opportunity to take a seat at the table, Ayani at her one side and Katara at the other. 

Katara cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I wanted-"

"KYA YOU'RE HOME!" Sokka cut his sister off before she could speak causing almost everyone to chuckle. Even as a grown adult Sokka was still a kid at heart. 

Katara glared at him. "Yes, that's what I was about to tell you all."

Everyone offered their welcome homes, Bumi was especially excited. They had always been extremely close growing up, their personalities just clicked. Tenzin was also happy about her return, but he was much more reserved than when she left, all of the training with Dad finally brought his more stoic side out. 

Nobody had noticed Ayani with all of the commotion. She sat there silently in awe of the group of people she was surrounded by. The original fearsome foursome, the saviors of the world. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she had married The Avatars daughter without knowing. 

Lin sat directly across from Kya. Glancing at her a few times during the conversations, she couldn't get enough of the fact that she was back. 

The conversation, if that's what you could call it, had died down finally and suddenly Sokka noticed the stranger sitting next to his niece. "Oh, I'm so sorry how rude of me. Who have you brought with you?" 

Everyone turned, realizing that there was a new face among them. 

Ayani smiled as Kya grabbed her hand. She cleared her throat in an attempt to calm her nerves more than anything. "Everybody, this is Ayani...my wife."

Lin who had been drinking her water spit it out all over Tenzin who was sitting next to her, slamming a hand down on the table. "WHAT IN THE FLAMEO DO YOU MEAN YOUR WIFE?! YOU'RE MARRIED?!" She was shocked, angry, and she didn't even care that all eyes were on her. 

"LIN BEIFONG." Her mother, Toph shouted at her. "What has gotten into you?! That was EXTREMELY rude."

Kya scrunched her face, trying not to show the emotion that had hit her. It felt like someone had just punched her in the chest. Thankfully nobody was looking at her but locked on Lin in confusion. They were all surprised, but she was doing a bit much. Well...in an outsider's eyes that is, but it was clear that nobody knew about what had happened so long ago.

Lin noticed the shift in the room. She stood up and stomped out, still flustered. 

Ayani was more than confused, looking questioningly at Kya. "Um...what was that?" She asked. 

Toph replied before Kya could. "Don't mind my daughter, she can be a bit over the top. I'm sure the shock of her best friend being married just hit her the wrong way. Spirits know where she gets that from." 

The entire table erupted with laughter, easing the tension once again. 

"Yes, we can't even begin to imagine." Katara chuckled, causing an eye roll from Toph. 

Ayani leaned over and whispered into her wife's ear. "Go on, you two need to talk." She observed the worried look on Kya's face. "I will be fine, trust me, I'm living for this."

Kya sighed and got up, walking out of the room in the direction which Lin had left. The only place she would have gone would be down to the docks, the same place where they would sit and talk until the wee hours of the morning. She saw the figure sitting with her feet hanging in the water. 

Lin sensed Kya approaching. "Go away." She said with a snarl. 

"I absolutely will not be doing that, thank you." Kya sat cross-legged next to her, looking out across the water. The dock had the perfect view of Republic City. At night, the lights glistened off the water like millions of spirit flies, it was calming to be sitting there, just like back when things were simple. 

They sat in silence, the only sound being the occasional ripple or fish blipping at the surface of the water. 

"What do you want me to say," Kya said softly at last. 

Lin sighed with frustration. "How about why you failed to mention earlier that you were MARRIED. Spirits Kya I could have saved myself the embarrassment tonight."

"You didn't embarrass yourself. Your mother made a statement about how she doesn't know why you're so dramatic and the attention immediately changed to making fun of her." Kya laughed as she was met with a long bout of silence once again. 

They both sat there, staring at the city lights for a while, it was like no words needed to be exchanged between them, just like it always had been. Kya missed these nights. The first time that she realized that she had feelings for Lin was in this exact spot, under similar circumstances, not being married, but Lin had been ticked off with her about something irrelevant. 

"You didn't answer me." Lin finally spoke. "Why didn't you tell me."

Kya contemplated her answer. She didn't know why for certain, she had plenty of time to just spit it out like an idiot earlier. "I don't know." She finally admitted. "I...didnt even consider it at the time."

"So, you forgot to mention it? I feel like that is pretty big news to just forget like that. Then again, you sure didn't stop me when I kissed you." Lin said with frustration. 

Kya spun around abruptly when she heard a throat being cleared behind her. There Ayani stood, arms folded across her chest looking highly irritated. "I love finding out that not only do you have a best friend but that you kissed her all in the same day."

"Ayani, I-" Kya went to explain herself but was cut off by her wife's hand that was indicating for her to stop speaking. Kya didn't even know what she had planned on saying to begin with. 

"I really would prefer for the next words to come out of your mouth be ANYTHING other than 'I'm sorry' or 'I can explain'," Ayani said. "I, at this point, would like it if you let me talk to Lin alone."

Lin just stared out at Republic City, she didn't speak or react to Ayani's presence. She almost felt numb over the whole situation, things weren't supposed to be like this, it was nothing like she had imagined Kya coming home would be like. She had gotten her hopes up that she would come home and they could start where Kya had left things, but life can never be that easy.

"...I can do that," Kya said as she got to her feet. She knew that if she were to say or do anything else, it would just make things much worse. Today was already too much for both of them. Kya was surprised that Ayani hadn't killed her yet for all of the secrets.

Ayani walked to the dock. "We'll be back in a bit. Go eat and visit your family." She said to Kya before shooing her away. 

After the water bender disappeared from view; Ayani took the spot where Kya had been sitting moments ago and dipped her feet into the water. She hadn't gotten much of a chance to even realize Lin was at the dinner table before the drama unfolded. 

"I'm not sure what you want, but I'm not interested in whatever it is," Lin said. Never letting her eyes drift from their locked position across the water. 

Ayani sighed. "Listen, I don't know you and Kya has told me nothing about you...about any of you. I am a little angry to find out that you kissed my wife, but you didn't know I existed so I can't fault you for that."

Lin had flinched when Ayani called Kya her wife. "You don't need to know anything about me. As for everyone else, I don't know why she kept them a secret, but you can just forget about me."

"Why would I do that?" Ayani looked at Lin. She had a pretty good idea about why she had kissed Kya, but there were missing pieces. "What exactly were you to her before she met me? Nobody inside seems to know why this blow-up happened."

Lin scrunched her face. Of course, nobody knew, she didn't even know what they had been. She had gone over what happened almost every day over the years that had passed, looking for different clues that would point to Kya feeling more than friendship for her. The only thing that came of it though, was Lin realizing all of the times that she looked at Kya a little too long, hugged her tighter than usual, worried more and more about her safety, and then the way her hair glistened in the sun when she would get water on it. She had finally realized why she hadn't wanted Kya to leave and why she had been so angry the day that Tenzin had told her. She loved Kya. 

"I was nothing." Lin felt the threat of tears behind her eyes as she lied. She had to have been something, Kya wouldn't have kissed her otherwise, but whatever she was, it wasn't enough for her to stay or to wait till she came home. 

The two sat in silence, looking out over the water. The darkness made everything even more peaceful. Ayani had walked a nice portion of the island during the day, but the night brought in the silent sounds of bugs chirping and the smell of cold air and saltwater mixing. 

Ayani had known Lin was lying, that much was very obvious. She needed to know though, she could accept what happened because of the circumstances, but your friends don't just walk up and smash their lips against yours as a welcome home gesture.

"Let's just say I know that there is more to this. I don't want to push you to tell me anything, but I would like to think that we could be civil if not friends." She looked back down at the water. Why was it so hard to talk to this woman? 

Lin finally looked at Ayani. Noticing the way her eyes glistened with the water reflecting off of them, her white-blonde hair was wild and untamed other than the braids that laid perfectly on each side of her head and hung down over her collar bone, and the two beaded strands that hung down in front of her face. No wonder Kya fell in love with this woman, she was gorgeous. Lin felt her face get hot at the last thought, she was supposed to be upset about her existence, not complimenting her beauty in her head. It wasn't Ayani's fault though and it's not like Lin had any right to be angry with anyone but Kya. 

"I'm sorry for being so harsh with you." Lin paused and took a breath. She was awful at this sort of thing, communicating was the last thing you would find her doing normally, but this situation was anything but normal. "You don't deserve that, you've been nothing but good to her I'm sure. If I care for her, that should be the most important thing."

Ayani smiled. "So you did mean more to each other than you're letting on."

"Not in the way you may think. I don't even know if it ever was anything in the first place..." Lin's face changed back to confusion. "I'm sorry if I'm being confusing, I want to tell you everything that you want to know, but that's hard to do when I'm not even sure of the answers." 

Ayani sighed. "I don't want to have to discuss anything about this with Kya. She already has a lot going on with...well everything here at home. I would much rather clear up what I can with you instead."

Lin laid back on the dock, staring up at the clear night sky. "Fine. She kissed me a long time ago, right before she left the city. She didn't tell me anything before that other than asking me to go with her, which was impossible for me to do. Other than that, she didn't do any love confession or even say she had any feelings for me. That was the last time that I saw her...until today that is."

"How about you? You have some sort of feelings." Ayani swished her feet in the water. There was no doubt on Lin's end of things and she wasn't upset or angry anymore about it now that she had some understanding. 

"I realized a few months after she had left that I felt something. I was so angry about her leaving and I didn't understand why. When I finally figured it out...I realized that I felt it the whole time, but I just assumed I cared for her on a much more innocent level." Lin groaned and put her arm over her eyes. "I fell in love with her and I didn't even know it until it was too late."

This time Ayani was silent. She didn't know what to say knowing that she kind of got between a potential relationship that she didn't know existed. Now the question posed of whether or not Kya felt the same way...

"I don't think that it's something that she wants anymore. You don't need to worry." Lin had sat up and began to get to her feet. "I saw the way she looked at you when she announced who you were. She is very much in love with you, I would never try and get in the way of that."

Ayani looked up at Lin, thankful for that last bit, it eased her mind some. "No hard feelings then?"

"I would be lying if I said there weren't. I will respect your marriage though and won't be getting in the way of that." Lin huffed and began to walk away. She hated this, it was nothing that she expected and she hated that she let herself be so open to this stranger. 

Ayani had gotten up and run to Lin's side, grabbing her hand and lacing her fingers with Lin's. 

"Um...what are you doing?" Lin tried her best not to yank her hand away. 

Ayani smirked. "Just follow my lead. You can make the whole kissing my wife thing up to me, sound good?"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?" She was intrigued at this point, noticing bits and pieces of Ayani's personality peeking through. 

"Let's just say that Kya is due for some suggestive humor. It's been a while since I've been able to mess with her." Ayani swayed Lin's arm back and forth. "If you don't feel comfortable though you can say no."

Lin rolled her eyes. "Don't underestimate my ability to have some fun. Whatever it is I'm in. We've been out here for quite some time, dinner is probably over with, which means Kya is probably in the courtyard waiting for us."

Ayani pulled Lin along with her as she started jogging back up to the temple. "Let's not keep her waiting when."


End file.
